Seal press



May 28, 1940. M. H. .sAcKscN Erm. 2,202,255

' lSEAL PRESS 1 'Filed sept. 1, 1938 v zal;

M ATTORVEYE.

Patented May 28, 1940 SEAL PRESS Marshall H. Jackson and Warren Jackson,

River Forest, Ill.

Application September 1, 1938, Serial No. 227,878

10 Claims. (Cl. 101-3) This invention relates to presses, such as may be employed for printing or embossing devices such as documentary seals, punches, stapling machines, or the like.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of such a device which may be em- -bodied in a very small size, as for the purpose of facilitating its being carried in the pocket of a garment or placed in a shallow drawer of a desk, and yet which will permit the seal impression, or other operation, to be performed upon a sheet of paper at a substantial distance from .a margin thereof.

A particular object of the invention is the provision of such a device which will be quite strong, even though embodied in a small size.

A special object of the invention is the provision of a device of the sort described which is especially adapted to effect the curling or rolling of a marginal portion of a sheet of paper which is introduced between the cooperating work elements in a` diagonal relationship to the press frame, thereby to facilitate the positioning of .latching or unlocking operations.

Another object is to improve generally upon the construction of such devices for the purpose of rendering them more efficient and easily handled and more versatile and effective in operation.

Other and further objects of the invention will be pointed out or indicated hereinafter, or will be obvious to one skilled in the art upon an understanding of the following specification or upon actual use of the invention.

For the purpose of aiding in an explanation of the invention, we show in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and hereinafter described, certain forms in which it may be embodied. It is to be understood, however, that these are presented merely for purpose of illustration, and hence are not to be construed in any fashion for the purpose of limiting the appended claims short of the true and most comprehensive scope of the invention in the art.

In said drawing,

Fig. l represents a side elevational view, partly in section, of a seal press embodying our invention; 'l

Fig. la is a detail Ashowing the forward end of the operating lever in side elevation; e

Fig. 2. is a top view of same with the handl or operating lever removed;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top lview illustrating the manner in which the press effects the curling of a sheet of paper which is introduced into it ,10 in a diagonal relationship;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the device equipped with'r an additional feature in the vnature of a guide for facilitating the curling or rolling of the paper `.15 sheet; and

Fig. 5 is a detail in the nature of a longitudinal section of a portion of the device illustrating a modified feature.

The nature of the invention will be .most quickly 20 ascertained from a description of the embodiments shown in the drawing, which is as follows.

The device comprises a body member, or frame, designated by the reference numeral I0, which may be cast of asuitable strong and light metal, 25 and includes a lower jaw portion ma, and an upper jaw portion Ib, affording between them a throat opening II, the surfaces of which are beveled laterally as indicated at Ila. The upper jaw portion is formed with an upwardly opening ,30 cavity I2, from `which extend a cylindrical plunger bore I4 and a spring socket I3, the latter being closed at its bottom and the bore I4 having,

a bottom opening disposed over the jaw Illa.l The counter or embossed die member l5 is fixedly mounted on the jaw Illa concentrically with the bore I4, and in said bore is guided, for reciprocation upwardly and downwardly, a plunger I6. On the lower end of this plunger is mounted the'intaglio die member Il in mating or com- .40 n

plementary relationship to the counter die I5,

said die member I'I having a central hub portion which seats in a socket Ia of the plunger, and

is retained in place bya countersunk screw I8,

or other appropriate means. `45

The upper end of the-plunger I6 extends into the cavity l2, and affixed to said upper end is a pressure plate I9 which extends rearwardly from the plunger first in upwardly sloping direction and then inv a horizontal direction over ,50 the spring socket I3. rvertically extending guide ribs 20 projecting inwardly from the walls of. the cavity I2 cooperate with said rearward portion of the pressure plate, and a helical spring 2I is disposed in the spring cavity I3 and bears against said rearward portion of the plate in a manner such as to urge. it and the plunger I6 upwardly.

An operating lever 22 is hinged on a pintle pin 24 above the plunger I6, said lever having a handle portion adapted-to swing upwardly and downwardly over the frame member H3, and a nose portion arranged for cooperation with the upper portion of the pressure plate I9 over the plunger I6. Said nose portion is formed with a thrust element 22a and a holding element 22h (see Fig. la). These elements, and the adjacent end p0r-` tion of the lever, are formed so that in the elevated position of the lever, shown in dottedflines* in Fig. l, upward movement of the plunger i6 and pressure plate i9 is accommodated soas'to permit the movable die member El to be elevated a substantial distance above the stationarydie member I5, to permit insertion of the paper between them. The relationship of the elements 22a' and 22o isalso` V such that inthe secured or; inactive positionAof therlever, which isillustrated in full lines in Fig. l, both of said elements are'in contact with the pressure plate i9, and it and the plunger l`6^ are held depressed, against thepressure of spring 2i, toean extent where the movable die member- Il is quite close to the stationary die member le, but not in actualsurface contact' therewith.` In this position, the embossed and intaglio die portions may actually be in mesh but not in contact. In such position of thel lever, the bearing or contact point of the holding element 22hupon the pressure plate i9 is approximately onl deadcenter, or on a straight line; between` thecenter of the pintle post 24 and the perpendicular surface of the pressure plate.

By virtue of this relationship of the parts, the pressure of the spring 2|, acting through the pressure plate I9, holds the lever 22 and the die member ll in the secured position. However, the lever may be'very easily tripped from this position', simply by moving its outer arm` upward slightly to throw the element 22o past the dead center line, whereupon the pressure plate will become eiective on theforward curved portion of the'element 22o to' rock the handle of the lever upwardly to itslimit position. y s

In the active position of the lever 22, which is shownin'dash lines in Fig. 1, its handle portion is depressed'and the element 22a, the prole of which attains a somewhat greater distance from the pintle pin Ethan does the holding element 22b, is rendered eiective on theV pressure plate i9 to depress the plunger I'- to an extent such as to fully seat the movable die member l'l upon the stationary die member I5. This` is the operation whereby the impression of the seal is embossed `upon the paper, which, of course, is disposed betweeny the two die members. The recess of the body member is continued rearwardly, as at |201., to accommodate this depression of the handle portion of the lever.

By virtue of this construction, wherein the rearward portion of the pressure plate i9 is offset upwardly, a throat opening H of very appreciable'height may be provided, while at the same time'the necessary length of spring may be accommodated in the device, and the overall height of the frame may be kept relatively low. Accordingly, the device may be made of such dimensions as to be susceptible of being carried with convenience in the pocket, yet may be operated inv the manner of the customary stand press, in-

as'much as the frameV is provided with a flat and sufliciently broad` bottom portion to permit its standing, with stability, in upright position on a table or desk.

Although not limited to such use, this seal press is particularly adapted to utilize the invention forming the subject matter of our U. S. Patent No. 1,861,572, granted June 7, 1932. As will be ascertained by reference to that patent, a feature of the invention resides in orienting the die members in such relationship to the frame that the top-to-bottom axis of the legend of the dies is in a diagonal position with respect to the'longitudinal axis of the press frame. As pointed out in said patent, one of the objects of that arrangement is to give the device increased versatility in permitting the seal impression to be placed'upon a sheetY of paper, in right-side-up position, across either a side or bottom margin of asheet or book page. In Fig. 3 is illustrated such an arrangement of the dies in the present press,

and also the manner in which the present press is' particularly4 adapted tof permit the seal impression to; be placed at a considerable distance inwardly from the margin of the sheet,.that is, at a distance considerably greater than the span ofthe frame jaws or the depth of the throat opening li. As seen in said iigure and inFig. l, the inn'er'contour of the throat openingll, in ad'- dition to being beveled laterally, as shown at Ila, isl also smoothly curved upwardly, both on the upper surface of the lower jaw and in the inner end portion' of said throat. This beveled formation i laand this smoothl curvature of the throat surfaces have the effect of automatically curling or rolling a sheet or" exible paper when it is pushed between the dies and into the throat to an extent greater thani the depth oi the throat. This curling effect onthe' paperis illustrated in a general fashion in Fig. 3 and also in-Fig. 4, it being noted that the paper follows the contour of the throat surfaces so' that it is guided upwardly and around in a smooth fashion, to avoid wrinkling and hence assure smooth andunobstructed entry of the sheet. rIhe inserted margin may be curled to a position where it overlies the upper die member, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

For the purpose of` permitting the insertion of a very considerable width of the sheet betweenthe jaws in this fashion, it is desirable that the throat opening be of considerable extent vertically as well as horizontally, and, as pointed out above, a considerable vertical` extension of the throat may be provided, and the overall height of the frame at the same time held to a minimum, by virtue of the offsetting of: the pressure plate t9 in the manner above described. The horizontal depth of the throat opening beyond the die members should be at least approximately as great as'the width of the die members, and this may be obtained, or augmented, by the beveling ofthe surfaces tia.

Asseenl in Fig. 3, moreover, the beveled portions Ha are presentedA insuch relationship that they meet, and in' a manner guide, the entering margin of the paper, thus affording some assistance in properly locating the seal impression, so as to square it with the marginsv of the' sheet. In order to afford` a visual guide for thus orienting the seal impression on the sheet, the upper die member Il may be provided on its upper surface with a duplicate 27 of a portion of the seal leg-end or design disposed in superimposed relationship to a corresponding. portion of the seal design, as illustrated in Fig'. 3 and as described more fully in our patent aboveiden'tied.

As a means for further guiding and'aiding in "the curling'o'r rolling of' the sheet of paper, an r'inner guide member may be arranged, as illustrated for example in Fig. 4. Here the inner guide member is in the form of a narrow roller 28 which is rotatably mounted on a resilient strip or arm 29 that is secured to the movable die member l1, or the plunger I6, in such fashion that the roller, when the press is in its open condition, is supported in the inner portion of the throat I l and in association with but spaced rom the upwardly curving inner surface portion of said throat. This is the position which the parts bear to each other when the sheet is inserted and, as shown in said iigure, the roller 28 cooperates with the curved surface portion of the throat to guide the sheet S in an upwardly curving direction when it is fed in between them. The arm 29 being resilient, yields when the movable die member I1 is depressed, so that the roller does not offer any obstruction to the proper operation of the device. The mounting of the arm portion 29 may be provided with an index or pointer part 29a arranged at a proper diagonal position on top of the movable die member Il, to indicate the top portion of the seal legend and serves as a visual guide for orienting the seal impression relative to the sheet of paper.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a modied arrangement for the securing element. In this, thev securing element 22h' is formed as the lower end portion of a thin plate 23, which is disposed in the slotted forward end of the lever 22 and is rotatably mounted on the pintle pin 24. It has a projecting handle portion 23a, whereby the plate may be swung so as to move the element 22h entirely into the slotted end of the lever, so that the lever may swing unobstruc-tedly to its uppermost position or be pressed down to its lower limit position. When the lever is held in the lowermost position, the plate 23 may be swung so as to move the element 22h out of the slot, to a position where it will cooperate with the pressure plate IS to hold the handle portion of the lever depressed and thus secure the movable die member I1 in the closed position.

We claim:

1. In a seal press, a frame having a lower jaw and an upper jaw separated by a throat opening of substantial height, a stationary die member mounted on the lower jaw, a plunger guided in the upper jaw for reciprocation vertically toward and from the lower jaw and carrying a movable die member for cooperation with the stationary die member, the upper jaw being provided with a spring socket over the throat opening, a spring seated in said socket, a rigid pressure plate fixed to the plunger and oifset upwardly over the throat opening and having an end portion spaced above said plunger and extending over the spring socket and bearing upon the upper end of the spring, and a lever hinged on the upper jaw above the plunger and having a cam portion bearing upon the pressure plate above the plunger so that by operation of the lever the plunger and movable die member may be forced downwardly against the pressure of said spring.

2. In a seal press, a frame having upper and lower jaw members separated by a throat opening, a stationary die member mounted on the lower jaw member at the entrance to the throat opening, and the throat opening extending inwardly therebeyond to a distance approximating the width of the die member, a plunger mounted in the upper jaw member and reciprocable to y and from the lower jaw member and carrying a l 'v3 movable die member for cooperation with the stationary diemember, the upper jaw member being provided with a spring socket over the 4throat opening beyond the area of the die members, a spring seated in said spring socket, a l rigid pressure plate having one end portion vaf. vxed to the plunger and extending upwardly and ,spaced above the lirst mentioned end portion and extending laterally therefrom and having its other end portion overlying the spring socket and engaging the spring, and a lever hinged in the upper die member and operable to move the plunger downwardly against the pressure of the spring.

`3. A seal press having a frame formed with upper and lower jaw members separated by a throat opening and having a stationary die member mounted on the lower jaw member at the entrance of said throat opening with thel topto-bottom axis of the die disposed obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the press frame, the inner end of 'the throat opening being a substantial distance beyond the innermost margin ofthe die member, and the surface portions of the frame which define said end of the throat opening being leveled obliquely away from the throat opening.

4. A seal .press as specified in claim 3, and.

wherein the surfaces forming the inner end of the throat opening, including said beveled portions, present smoothly curving surfaces leading upwardly from the lower jaw member and thence forwardly under the upper jaw member to guide the marginal portion of a sheet of paper upwardly and forwardly when it is fed obliquely between the jaw members.

"5. In a seal press having a frame formed with upper and lower ljaw members separated by a throat opening and a stationary die member mounted on the lower jaw member at the entrance to said throat opening and a movable die member'reciprocable upwardly and downwardly above the stationary die member across the entrance to the throat opening, an arm mounted for movement with the movable die member and extending into the throat opening, and a paper guide mounted at the inner end of said arm in association with the inner end of the throat opening.

6. In a seal press, a construction as specified in claim 5 and wherein the surfaces of the frame defining the inner end of the throat opening afford a smoothly curving contour extending upwardly from the lower jaw member and forwardly under the upper jaw member beyond the inner peripheryof the paper guide.

'7. In a seal press, the combination specied in claim 5 and wherein the paper guide is in the form of a roller rotatably mounted on the inner end of said arm.

8. In a seal press, the combination specified in claim 5 and wherein said arm is resiliently iiexible to permit the paper guide to be moved upwardly and downwardly relative to the movable die member.

9. In a seal press, a frame, a reciprocable plunger guided in said frame, a lever hinged on vsaid frame, spring means urging the plunger toward the hinge of the lever, said lever having a manually operable power arm extending above tending for a greater distance'from kthe hinge than the surface of the holding element, the plane of contact of said thrust and holding elements With said plunger supporting said lever in lowered inactive position against pressure from said spring means.

10. In a seal press or the like, a construction as specified in claim 9 and wherein the holding ,element `is carried lon a member which is `moi/ably mounted in the pressure arm of the lever and which has a handle portion extending thereabove and operable to change the angular relationship of the holding element to the thrust element.

MARSHALL H. JACKSON. WARREN JACKSON. 

